bankruptcy.cooley.comIn The (Red)® | Robert L. Eisenbach III of Cooley LLP | The Business Bankruptcy Blog

By Robert L. Eisenbach III Current Page: Home About Bob Contact Search… Search In The (Red) The Business Bankruptcy Blog ABI’s Industry Viewpoint Interview: Intellectual Property And Bankruptcy By Bob Eisenbach on July 6, 2022 Posted in Business Bankruptcy Issues , Recent Developments I recently had the honor of talking with the American Bankruptcy Institute’s Editor-at-Large Bill Rochelle about the intersection of intellectual property and bankruptcy, as part of ABI’s Industry Viewpoints video series. Bill and I discussed issues ranging from the U.S. Supreme Court’s Tempnology decision involving trademark licenses , to Section 365(n) of the Bankruptcy Code , to the very different issues posed when a licensee files bankruptcy and wants to assume or assign an inbound IP license. You can watch the video by following this YouTube link . I hope you enjoy it. Photo courtesy of the American Bankruptcy Institute Email this post Tweet this post Like this post Share this post on LinkedIn The Monetization Of Intellectual Property In Bankruptcy And Restructuring By Bob Eisenbach on May 25, 2022 Posted in Business Bankruptcy Issues , Recent Developments , The Financially Troubled Company ABI Panel . Last month I had the honor of speaking on a panel at the American Bankruptcy Institute’s 2022 Annual Spring Meeting in Washington, D.C. The topic of our panel was the Monetization of Intellectual Property in Bankruptcy and Restructuring. I was joined by four distinguished panelists, Leslie Zmugg, General Counsel of Gordon Brothers (who was our moderator); Arthur Daemmrich, the Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Director at the Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation at the Smithsonian Institution; Bradley Limpert at Limpert & Associates; and Joshua Pichinson, Managing Director at Sherwood Partners, Inc./agencyIP. The panel covered a range of issues, including an historical perspective on intellectual property and the way business failures impacted technological development, the impact of licenses on IP sales in bankruptcy, due diligence issues in distressed IP sale transactions, and cross-border implications in certain intellectual property transactions. Video Available . The American Bankruptcy Institute has now made the the video of the panel discussion available for your viewing pleasure — just follow the link in this sentence to watch it. I hope you find it helpful. Image Courtesy of Flickr by Alejandroxwq Email this post Tweet this post Like this post Share this post on LinkedIn Official Bankruptcy Forms Revised To Reflect April 1, 2022 Dollar Amount Adjustments Now In Effect By Bob Eisenbach on April 1, 2022 Posted in Business Bankruptcy Issues , Recent Developments As discussed in an earlier post calledMoving Up: Bankruptcy Code Dollar Amounts Will Increase On April 1, 2022 ,” various dollar amounts in the Bankruptcy Code and related statutory provisions were increased for cases filed on or after today, April 1, 2022. This information sheet has a list of all of the dollar amount changes now in effect. The official bankruptcy forms have also been revised to reflect these new dollar amounts. The updated forms include the official Proof of Claim form (the link has a copy of the revised form), as well as a number of other commonly used bankruptcy forms. Follow the link in this sentence for i nformation about, and access to, all newly revised official bankruptcy forms . Separately, the temporary change in the 2020 CARES Act as subsequently extended, boosting the aggregate non-contingent liquidated debt limit to $7,500,000 for filing a Subchapter V case, expired on March 27, 2022. Although Congress may raise the debt limit later, these new official forms reflect the April 1, 2022 inflation-adjusted cap of $3,024,725 for Subchapter V cases. Remember, the increased dollar amounts, now reflected on these forms, apply only to cases filed on or after April 1, 2022. Image Courtesy of Flickr by Pictures of Money Email this post Tweet this post Like this post Share this post on LinkedIn Moving Up: Bankruptcy Code Dollar Amounts Will Increase On April 1, 2022 By Bob Eisenbach on February 4, 2022 Posted in Business Bankruptcy Issues , Recent Developments An official notice from the Judicial Conference of the United States was just published announcing that certain dollar amounts in the Bankruptcy Code will be increased a larger than usual 10.973% this time for new cases filed on or after April 1, 2022. Follow this link for the Federal Register page with a chart listing all of the updated dollar amounts . Among the most meaningful increases for Chapter 11 and other business bankruptcy cases: The employee compensation and employee benefit plan contribution priorities under Sections 507(a)(4) and 507(a)(5) both increase to $15,150 from $13,650; The consumer deposit priority under Section 507(a)(7) rises to $3,350 from $3,025; The total amount of claims required to file an involuntary petition rises to $18,600 from $16,750; The dollar amount in the bankruptcy venue provision, 28 U.S.C. Section 1409(b), which requires that actions to recover for non-consumer, non-insider debt be brought against defendants in the district in which they reside, has increased to to $27,750 from $25,000; The minimum amount required to bring a preference claim against a defendant in a non-consumer debtor case, specified in Section 547(c)(9), rises to $7,575 from $6,825; and The total debt amount in the definition of small business debtor in Section 101(51D) will rise to $3,024,725 from $2,725,625. Other adjustments will affect consumers more than business debtors. For example, the debt limit for an individual to qualify for a Chapter 13 bankruptcy case will rise to $1,395,875 of secured debt, and certain exemption amounts will also increase. Given recent inflation, these increases are larger than usual. Be sure to keep them in mind when assessing cases filed after April 1, 2022. Official bankruptcy forms will likely be updated as April 1st draws near. Image Courtesy of Flickr by Pictures of Money Email this post Tweet this post Like this post Share this post on LinkedIn Amendments To The Federal Rules Of Bankruptcy Procedure Take Effect December 1, 2021 By Bob Eisenbach on November 2, 2021 Posted in Business Bankruptcy Issues , Recent Developments Each year amendments are made to the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure, which govern how bankruptcy cases are managed. The amendments address issues identified by an Advisory Committee made up of federal judges, bankruptcy attorneys, and others. The rule amendments are ultimately adopted by the U.S. Supreme Court and technically subject to Congressional disapproval. Just A Handful Of Rule Amendments This Year . This year there are only four bankruptcy rule amendments expected to take effect on December 1, 2021. They are all relatively minor technical or administrative revisions. That means you don’t have to worry about major bankruptcy rule changes this year — good to know. Here are the amendments: Rule 2005, addressing release conditions for a debtor taken into custody, was amended to refer to the correct section of Title 18. Rule 3007, governing service of claim objections, was amended to make clear that an insured depository institution, now identified only as one defined in section 3 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act,” also has to be served pursuant to Rule 7004(h) and its more rigorous service requirements (including certified mail in some situations). Although a minor change, it’s a good reminder of the special service rules that apply to FDIC insured depository institutions. The Committee Note clarifies that this provision does not apply to credit unions because they’re covered by National Credit Union Administration insurance instead of FDIC insurance. Rule 7007.1, involving corporate ownership disclosures, was amended to align with similar disclosure rules in the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure and the Federal Rules of...